Golfer's Elbow
What is a golfer’s elbow?
Medial epicondylalgia, or more commonly known as golfer’s elbow, is a pain along the inside of the elbow which is normally caused by repeated gripping motions. Just like tennis elbow, it doesn’t just affect people who play golf but those who are involved in more laborious work and repeated gripping and lifting tasks. Medial epicondylalgia usually happens as a result of an overuse of the tendons which controls the movement of your fingers.
How do I know if I have medial epicondylalgia?
Signs and symptoms of a medical epicondylalgia may include:
- Pain around the inside of the elbow
- Pain with gripping and lifting activities
- May have some swelling around the inside of the elbow
- Tenderness over the inside of the elbow
- Loss of grip strength
How is medial epicondylalgia diagnosed and managed?
It is usually diagnosed through a physical examination carried out by a Doctor or Physiotherapist. Depending on the severity of the pain, your Doctor might order an MRI scan to ensure that there are no extensive tears or nerve damage present. However with most cases, there may not be a need for a scan to direct treatment interventions. In more painful cases, a Doctor might recommend a steroid injection to the area. Surgical interventions to repair the tendon are only warranted should there be a tear present.
How can Physiotherapy help?
The Physiotherapist will carry out an assessment of your elbow region, and this would include an assessment of the range of movements in your elbow and hand, as well as your grip strength and the flexibility of the surrounding muscles. The role of Physiotherapy is to educate how to modify certain tasks and to ensure that grip strength is maintained and kept relatively pain-free.
Treatment may include but is not limited to:
- Advise and education pertaining to your condition
- Soft tissue therapy
- Movement with mobilisation
- Heat therapy
- Electrotherapy
- Dry needling
- Shockwave therapy
- Taping to offload the forearm muscles
- Movement training
- Returning to sport training
- Personalised home exercise program
- Hand Therapy